


Away With Your Cares

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5254496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cochise gives Frederick some strawberries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Away With Your Cares

**Author's Note:**

> (Blame this on so many alcohols and the feeling of waiting in airports and the feeling of a huge, too expensive bed)

“Ben!  Ben,” Frederick says, stumbling into the living room of their apartment.  He feels so alive and happy and he wants to share this feeling with the human he loves.

“Hey, Frederick,” Ben says, looking up from his book with a bemused face.  Then, he squints.  “What’s up?”

Frederick shows him the bowl of strawberries that he has been consuming.  “A delicious human food is ‘up.’  Uppest.”

“When Cochise eats some of those, he gets a little loopy.  Don’t they make Volm drunk?” Ben says.

“I am Volm.  I am immune to intoxicants,” Frederick says, tripping over the coffee table a little before righting himself.  “Maybe I am temporarily slightly incapacitated.”

“You’re drunk,” Ben says, raising an eyebrow.  “Whatever you want to call it, you’re drunk.”

Ben sets his book down and stands up, grasping Frederick around the waist.  He leads Frederick to the couch and helps him sit down; Frederick keeps an arm around him the whole time because Ben is so soft and warm and of course he wants to be near him and Frederick accidentally ends up on Ben’s lap, which is a pleasant place to accidentally be.

“You must try one of these,” Frederick says, wiggling a strawberry in front of Ben’s beautiful face.  “It will change things.”

“I’ve had a strawberry before,” Ben says, smiling at him. 

“You have not had one of Chichauk’s strawberries!” Frederick exclaims, popping it into his mouth.

Ben wrinkles his nose.  “You’re not supposed to eat the stem- the green part.”

“It is so delicious,” Frederick says, picking up another strawberry and waving it enticingly in front of Ben again.  “Try it.”

“As long as you don’t try to feed me the green part,” Ben says, looking at him with a radiant smile.  “I’m not doing that no matter how good Cochise’s produce is.”

“Only what you want,” Frederick assures him.

Ben leans forward and bites into the strawberry.  He says something, but Frederick is too entranced by the sight of Ben’s teeth. 

“You okay?” Ben asks, tapping the side of Frederick’s head gently.  “You’re staring.  Kind of slack-jawed, which I don’t think I’ve seen a Volm do before.”

“Your teeth…” Frederick says, eating the green portion of the strawberry.  To waste something so delicious would be unforgiveable. 

“Is something stuck in them?” Ben asks, touching them.

“No,” Frederick says slowly. 

He brushes Ben’s fingers out of the way and inserts his own fingers in Ben’s mouth.  Carefully, he touches Ben’s teeth; it is ridiculous to worry about hurting his teeth when they are so strong, but Frederick is cautious nonetheless.  That is part of loving someone from a physically weaker species.

Ben attempts to speak, but it is impossible to understand with Frederick’s fingers in his mouth.  And so, Frederick removes them.

“You may coherently speak now,” Frederick assures him, popping another strawberry in his own mouth.

“I was just wondering why you’re sticking your fingers in my mouth,” Ben says.

“Your teeth, like much of you, are so strange but so wonderful.  So strong,” Frederick says dreamily.  “I enjoy them so much.   You are so good at biting objects.  Food.  I see you eat soft strawberries and then also harder foods, and I am very impressed.”

“How many strawberries have you had?” Ben asks, squinting. 

“Many, but I assure you, I am fully in control of my faculties.  You have strong teeth.  Gorgeously strong.  And your hair!  Not strong, but an appealing means of protection to keep you warm.  What a smart evolutionary development!” Frederick says.

He is distracted as Ben starts caressing his face.  Ben’s smooth, strong, fragile fingers running along his facial ridges.

Frederick tries to turn his head to look at them, to watch them, but that proves largely ineffectual.  It is hard to watch someone touch your own face. 

“You are so cute when you’re drunk,” Ben says in a warm voice.

There was a time when Frederick would not have recognized a warm voice, but humans have taught him of figurative speech and Ben often talks warmly towards him.  Ben is warmth.

“I am not drunk! Temporarily impaired a little bit,” Frederick says.  “Maybe.”

“You’re cute when you’re temporarily impaired a little bit.  Maybe,” Ben says, and Frederick knows he is humoring him. 

“I am the ambassador to Earth,” Frederick says.  “I must have impeccable judgement at all times.”

“It’s okay to let loose a little bit,” Ben says, laughing.  “I’ll make sure that you don’t get in any trouble.”

“You are always looking out for me,” Frederick says, brushing his lips over Ben’s cheek and chin, pleasantly surprised at the taste under his tongue.  “You taste like the strawberry!  And Ben!  Benberry!  Better than a regular strawberry.”

Ben laughs and grabs a strawberry.  He eats it messily before feeding the rest to Frederick.

Taking the cue (he hopes it is the cue), Frederick leans over and licks the juice off Ben’s chin.

Ben grins and grabs another strawberry, repeating the process, so Frederick infers that he took the correct cue.

They continue in this way for a while, until Ben sets the bowl aside.

“You’re getting tired.  Let’s get you to bed because I can’t carry you,” Ben says.

“I am enjoying the Benberry, though!” Frederick protests feebly.

“I’m sure there will be more strawberries,” Ben says, pressing his lips to Frederick’s temple. 

“I hope so,” Frederick murmurs.

“C’mon, get up,” Ben says.

Frederick stands up unsteadily, knees buckling.  The room is spinning a lot, but Ben wraps an arm around him and leads him to their bedroom.  His nice, squishy Benberry.

* * *

 

Ben helps his boyfriend to their bed.  When he had first started eating the strawberries, he had thought it would lead to a make out session; instead, it ended up with Frederick mostly licking his face and murmuring about Benberries.  So now he’s sticky and his face is covered in Volm spit.  Still, a nice night.

“I’m going to go get a washcloth, okay?” Ben says when he’s laid Frederick down.

Frederick frowns at him.  “No, do not leave, Benberry.”

Ben smiles at the new nickname he’s apparently acquired.  “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

Frederick makes vaguely unhappy noises with his noseholes, but Ben is quick and soon enough, he’s wiping them both clean of stickiness. 

“Now we can cuddle without getting stuck together,” Ben says, tossing the washcloth aside.  He can get it in the morning.

“So smart,” Frederick murmurs, instantly wrapping himself around Ben.

“I love you,” Ben says, smiling down at him.  “You’re going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.”

“Nuh-uh,” Frederick says petulantly.  “I am not drunk.”

“Okay,” Ben says, indulgently.  “But if you do feel like crap, don’t worry about it, totally normal.”

And then, Ben gets to see a rare sight: Frederick asleep.  Ben smiles at him and gets ready for a long night.  It would probably be okay if he slept, but he wants to be awake if Frederick has a bad reaction.

* * *

 

Frederick wakes up with a sharp pain in his head.  He had not even planned a rest cycle that night, so waking up in pain is doubly surprising. 

When he opens his eyes that hurts, too, so he closes them right away and presses his face instinctively against the warm, soft body that he is draped over.  Ben.

The body shifts and a hand comes to rest between his shoulder blades. 

“How are you feeling?” Ben asks, and it sounds like he is yelling, which is very out of character.

Frederick makes the traditional human shushing noise. 

“Ah, hungover,” Ben says in a much quieter voice.

“I do not have full memory of last night,” Frederick admits.  “I hope we were not attacked.”

Ben laughs softly.  “You got drunk.”

“Impossible,” Frederick says.  “Volm are immune to intoxicants.”

“You said something about Cochise giving you strawberries.  They’re like alcohol for Volm, from what I’ve seen,” Ben says.

“He gave them to me yesterday and instructed me to only eat them when I did not have other duties to attend to and when I was home,” Frederick says.

“He tricked you into getting drunk?” Ben asks incredulously. 

“Chichauk has often chided me about relaxing,” Frederick says.  “I do not remember much about last night, but I was certainly relaxed.”

“Okay, but basically drugging you is a _little_ extreme,” Ben says and he sounds almost angry. 

Frederick shrugs a little.  “Not for the Volm, and this was pleasant.”

Ben makes a noise that Frederick believes is disapproval.

“I am not upset with him; I merely hope that I did not disrupt your night unpleasantly,” Frederick says.

“Nah,” Ben says, softening instantly.  “You were cute.  Spent a lot of time licking my face and I found out how much you love my teeth.  Which, I have to say, I don’t think anyone has ever praised anyone else’s teeth so fervently.”

Frederick feels his face blush blue and his head gives an extra hard throb.  “I am sorry for my unpleasant behavior.”

“It was good,” Ben says.  “You were sweet and funny and took your fingers out of my mouth when I got confused.  All good things.”

“Good,” Frederick says, nestling a little closer to his Ben.  “You do have nice teeth.  I have often thought this but did not know a proper way to articulate my thoughts.”

Ben laughs a little, and it triggers a memory for Frederick: Ben laughing as Frederick sits on his lap and licks his face.

“Benberry!” Frederick exclaims, looking up at Ben even though the light hurts his eyes.  “You ate many strawberries and I started calling you Benberry.  I remember that now.”

“Mhm,” Ben says.  “I should’ve known you had a couple super sweet nicknames in you, even if the Volm aren’t big nicknamers.”

“It was very delicious,” Frederick inform him.

“I figured from how you kept licking my face,” Ben says and Frederick is relieved to see that he is smiling as he relays this information.

“I also enjoy the word Benberry; it is fun to say,” Frederick says. 

“It’s cute,” Ben says.  “Although, you should probably only use that nickname when it’s just the two of us.”

“You are embarrassed and attempting to spare my feelings,” Frederick says. 

“No!” Ben exclaims, making Frederick wince at the loudness of his voice.  “I just know that you take your position as ambassador very seriously, and that the Volm already are disgruntled that you’re in a relationship with a mere human like me.  A silly nickname would probably push them over the brink.”

“You are not ‘merely’ anything,” Frederick contests because he knows that the word has a negative connotation. 

“I know you don’t think so- and I don’t think so either- but I’ve also spent a lot of time around the Volm.  And to them, I’m merely a human and you should take a Volm mate,” Ben says.  “I really don’t care what they think about me, but I don’t want them making your life more difficult over a cute nickname.  There will be lots of more important things that’ll upset them, I’m sure.”

It is most kind of Ben to consider Frederick’s position with the Volm.  There are times when not even Frederick wants to consider such things. 

“You are wise,” Frederick says. 

Ben smiles.  “I care about you and don’t want your work life to be miserable.”

“I love you, too.  Benberry,” Frederick says.

“Oh god, now I have to come up with something even cuter,” Ben says, shaking his head.

“You are already quite cute, so do not worry, please,” Frederick says.  His head pounds again.  “I hope that this discomfort passes soon.”

“If you let me get up, I can bring you some water.  That helps with human hangovers,” Ben soothes. 

“I believe I would rather you stay here,” Frederick says.  “I do not want to move.  Ever again.”

“A lazy day in bed sounds perfect,” Ben says, rubbing his back soothingly.  “First time getting drunk can be rough.”

“I did _not_ get drunk,” Frederick insists, pressing his face back against Ben’s chest and closing his eyes.

“Of course.  Just temporarily slightly impaired maybe,” Ben says affectionately.  “Honestly, sometimes you’re as stubborn as Shaq.”

Frederick is uncertain if this is an insult or not as Ben expresses many conflicting emotions about Shaq.  But Frederick is certain that Ben would not insult him, or if he did, he would be more clear about it.

Ben traces shapes against his back.  It is a soothing feeling.  The strawberries had been fun- being so relaxed had been a strange and wonderful feeling- but this is even better, despite the pounding in his head. 

Hopefully, that feeling will wear off soon.  Even if it does not, it merely gives him an excuse to bury his head against Ben’s chest and hold him close (and to be held close by him).


End file.
